Hair and scalp cleaning device



March 17,1942." G A, MITH 2,276,886

HAIR AND SGALP CLEANING DEVICE Filed May '1, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVEN TOR.

BY Cr/ ATTZNEY.

March 17, 1942.

G. A. SMITH HAIR AND SCALP CLEANING DEVICE Filed May 1, 1939 4Sheets-Sheet 2' ly/tj. /Z.

March 17, 1942. ca. A. SMITH 2,276,886

HAIR AND SCALP CLEANING DEVICE Filed May 1, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I N VEN TOR.

7 1/5. a. M y I Cd ATTO EY.

March 17, 1942. s n- 2,276,886

HAIR AND SCALP CLEANING DEVICE Filed May 1, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 AORNEY.

' J7 INVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1mm ANnscALr cremennvrcn George A. smithjnaitmiere, Md. Application May 1, 1939, SerialNo. 271,195

i 6 Claims. (01. 128-291) application for patent for which was filed byme on June 24, 1938, Serial No. 215,671.

The object of the invention is to provide a device for removing dandruffand dirt from the hair by means of suction, and is intended especiallyfor use on longer hair, such as a womans, where it would be desirable toclean the hair with as little mussing or disorder as possible- A furtherobiect of the invention is to provide means also, and at the same time,for removing dandrufi from the scalp.-

A further object of the invention is to provide a suction head having acomb fitting over the mouth thereof, the comb being forked and so de--signed that when it is passed through the hair, it will separate thehair into thin wide strands, each of these strands being subjected tothe full suction of the device, as it passes through the inner spacebetween the forks.

A further object of the invention isto provide meansby which the comb,in addition to subjecting the hair to the full suction effect, will alsoreach through to the scalp and thoroughly clean the scalp during one andthe same operation.

The invention consists of the novel construction and arrangement of theparts and combination of parts hereinafter more fully set forth in thefollowing specification and pointed out in detail in the appendedclaims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a side elevation of my invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section on the line Z-i of Figure 3. f

Figure 5 is a section on the line 55 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a detail enlarged end view of the comb.

Figure 7 is .an enlarged sectional view of the comb, showing amodification of the teeth.

Figure 8 is arear view of a portion of the comb, illustrating themodified form of teeth shown in Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a section on the lineB-Q of Figure 7.

Figure 10 is another view of my invention, showing a furthermodification of the comb.

Figure 11 is an enlarged section of the comb taken on the line H-fl l ofFigure 10.

Figure 12 is a view in section, showing a further modification of thetooth; illustrated in Figure 11.

Figure 13' is a greatly enlarged bottom'plan view of a portion of thecomb, illustrating a still further modification.

Figure 14 is a rear view of a portion of this comb.

Figure 15 is a side view of a portion of this comb.

Figure 16 is a side elevation of a still further modification of boththe comb and bolder.

Figure 17 is a rear end view of Figure 16.

Figure 18 is a section on the line |8-l8 of Figure 16.

Figure 19 is a section'on the line l9-l9 of Fi ure l7.

Figure 20 is an enlarged view of a section of the comb.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, and in which like reference numerals designate like partsthroughout the several views thereof, I designates the suction headformed of light metal, or other suitable material, having an opening. 2for coupling with a suitable suction-producing mechanism, and a mouth 3completely covered by a special comb 4. This special comb is providedwith flanges 5 on its upper side adapted to fit in the slots 6 in thehead, to make a tight connection therewith, as shown in section inFigure 4. This comb l is formed of two parts, I and 8,'conve1'ging andformed into teeth 9 which are joined together at their lower ends. Thisprovides acomb in which every tooth isforked directly above the tip toprovide an open space within the comb. The slots between the teeth 9extend a predetermined distance and are terminated to allow the solidsides l0 at the top ad- 'joining the flanges 5. Both ends of the combare closed by solid teeth II and i2, and a handle i3 is provided forinserting and withdrawing the comb in'the suctionhead. It is obviousthat other methods of attaching the comb to the suction head could beprovided without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In Figure 7 is shown one tooth of a section of the comb in which therear fork is provided with special projections M for the purpose ofextracting any particles of foreign matter in the hair as it passesbetween the teeth. 'In this modification, the space between the frontforks ii of the teeth is greater than the space between the rear forksIS in order to compress the hair as it passes between the rear teeth andaid in extracting foreign particles from the hair and into the as openspace I! between the front and rear forks of the teeth where theseparticles will be drawn oil by the suction.

The modification of my invention shown in Figure has teeth hollowthroughout, as shown in section in Figure 11. The interior opening I8graduates from a small area at the tip of the teeth to a larger areas atthe top. These teeth are provided with sharpened tips IQ for separatingthe hair as an aid in passing'through it.

In Figure 12 is a further modification of the special tooth combiningthe features of both the modification and the special tooth previouslydescribed. This is a forked tooth provided with an opening 20 at thetip.

In Figures 13, 14 and 15, I have shown a further modification of myinvention which is a preferred design for the special comb. In this combthe front fork 2i of the tooth terminates at the point 22 and is joinedthereat to the rear 23 is rounded at 26 and slightly farther to the rearis attached the tuft of bristles 21. These bristles 21 could be flat atthe bottom 28 or rounded as shown at 29 in Figure 14.

In Figures 16, 17, l8, l9 and 20, I have shown a modified suction head30, provided with a handle 3|. The special comb 32 is also modified byhaving a broader tip and is supplied with multiple openings 33.

To use the device, the head. I is attached to the propersuction-producing mechanism, and after this has been started, thesuction head is grasped at the top by the hand and is drawn over thehead with the teeth of the comb 4 passing through the hair. If the comb,as first described, is used and it is only desired to clean the hairwithout the scalp, there is no necessity in keeping the tips in contactwith the scalp, and the hair is combed its full length at each stroke.As

the hair passes between the special teeth of the comb, it is importantthat the hair completely fill the space between the teeth, thus closingall openings through which air can enter the suction head through thespecial comb. This will consequently subject the hair, when it passesbetween the forks of the comb, to the full suction for the purpose ofremoving dirt and dandrufl therefrom.

In my modification, Figures 10 and 11, the purpose would be to clean thescalp and the comb 7 made lightlyenoughsoas not to irritate the scalp.

would be passed through the hair, keeping the tips of the teeth incontact with the scalp for the purpose of loosening and removing thedandruff through the openings.il.-

If the preferred comb, shown in Figures 13, 14 and 15 were used, thehair and scalp would both be cleaned at the same operation. To use thiscomb, the suction head I is grasped in the hand and the comb drawnthrough the hair, keeping the tips of the teeth in contact with thescalp throughout each stroke. The hair itself would be cleaned, asbefore described, while the scalp would be subjected to both thescraping eflfect of the projections 26 and brushing by the bristles 21as they pass through each pathway opened by the teeth, the dandruff thusloosened being 21 are applied to the scalp should, of course, be

It can readily be seen that by passing this comb through the hairrepeatedly, as just described, every portion of the scalp and all' ofthe hair would bereached, thus affording thorough dry cleaning of thescalp and hair.

The modification of my .invention shown in Figures 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20would be used in exactly the same manner except that the suction headcould be held by the handle.

As it is necessary, in order to secure the proper suction effect, thatthe teeth of the comb project completely into the hair, it might beadvisable to provide a movable shutter resting on the outside of theteeth so that the portion of the teeth permitted to enter the hair couldbe regulated and that portion of the teeth above this line completelycovered to prevent air from entering into the vacant spaces between theteeth, with a consequent reduction of the suction on the hair.' It isobvious that instead of using one comb with bifurcated teeth, two combscould be used with the tips of their teeth abutting.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. The combination with a suction ,head adapted to be connected to asuitable suctionproducing mechanism and having a groove on each side ofits mouth extending lengthwise thereof, and a comb having divided teethconnected at their upper ends and each pointed and joined at its lowerend, said comb having a flange on each side at its upper edge adapted toslide in and out of the grooves on the side of the adapted to beconnected to a suitable suctionproducing mechanism, and a comb adaptedto be held over the mouth of said suction head and having integraldivided teeth converging fromopposite sides of the opening in thesuction head and joined at their opposite ends.

4. The combination with a suction head adapted to be connected to' asuitable suctionproducing mechanism, and a comb having integralbifurcated teeth symmetrically arranged in a series with their free endsconnected and the open spaces in the teeth adjacent one to the other.

5. The combination with a suction head adapted to be connected to asuitable suctionproducing mechanism, and a comb having hollowwedge-shape teeth with separate openings in their wedge-shape sides andpoints, and the teeth arranged symmetrically in a series to presentunperforated front and rear'surfaces.

6. The combination with a suction head adapted to be connected to asuitable suctionproducing mechanism and having a mouth therein, and acomb removably secured in said head and having serrated teeth.

GEORGE A. SMITH.

